The Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum, which recognizes the contributions of performers, producers and others in rock & roll, country music, and beyond, has announced its 2019 class of inductees. Alabama and Steve Wariner represent the country field, in addition to legendary producer Owen Bradley and recording engineer Billy Sherrill.
In addition to Wariner and Alabamas Jeff Cook, Teddy Gentry, and Randy Owen, other inductees include Don Everly, one-half of the influential rock and country duo the Everly Brothers, whose distinctive rhythm guitar intro to the pairs massive hit Wake Up Little Susie earns the organizations Iconic Riff Award. The Rascals keyboardist, Felix Cavaliere, a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame, will also be inducted.
Owen Bradley, who produced recordings by Brenda Lee, Loretta Lynn, and Patsy Cline, will be inducted in the category of Musicians Hall of Fame Producer, while Grammy- and ACM Award-winning Nashville recording engineer Billy Sherrill (not to be confused with the late songwriter and producer of the same name) is the recipient of the 2019 Musicians Hall of Fame Engineer Award.
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Three groups of studio session players are being recognized: Nashvilles modern A-Team musicians (Eddie Bayers, Paul Franklin, John Hobbs, Brent Mason, Michael Rhodes), who follow in the tradition of the original A-Team; the Original Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section (David Briggs, Jerry Carrigan, Norbert Putnam, Terry Thompson and friends Earl Peanutt Montgomery, Joe South, and Reggie Young), who played on some of popular musics most legendary recordings at Rick Halls Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.; and the Muscle Shoals Horn Section (Aaron Brown, Harrison Calloway, Ronnie Eades, Charlie Rose and Harvey Thompson).
California surf music instrumentalists the Surfaris (Bob Berryhill, Pat Connolly, Jim Fuller, and Ron Wilson) earn the inaugural Musicians Hall of Fame Instrumental Song Award for their 1963 summer hit Wipe Out, while Taylor Guitars co-founder Bob Taylor earns the Industry Icon Award not only for his innovations in instrument-making but also for his work in forest conservation.
Pre-sale tickets for the Musicians Hall of Fame ceremony will be available August 2nd for Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum members, with tickets on sale for the public August 5th via the Schermerhorn Symphony Center box office.
[Editors note: A previous version of this story identified Billy Sherrill as producer, not recording engineer.]